April 15, 2015

Bobby Boucher

Bobby Boucher was the youngest of the famous hockey playing Boucher brothers from Ottawa. In total four brothers would all play in the NHL, including Billy and Hall of Famers Frank and Georges (also known as Buck). Two other brothers (and two sisters) never made it to the NHL. They were all the sons of Tom Boucher (and mother Annie Carroll), a Canadian football star.

By the time young Bobby began playing organized youth hockey, brother Georges was already playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association. The NHA was the forerunner the National Hockey League.

Young Bobby was part of that 1916 Senators team, too. He was the mascot! Mascots were a little different than nowadays. Back then a rink rat kid would be "the mascot," which was something more like the modern day stick-boy. He would serve in this role until 1921.

His own hockey career was blossoming too, though it was not until 1924 when he joined the NHL himself. He signed on with the Montreal Canadiens, joining brother Billy. He only played 11 regular season games and three more in the playoffs, but both Boucher brothers would get their name on the Stanley Cup that spring.

Standing at just 5'8" and 140lbs, Boucher was thought of as too small by Montreal management. After the Stanley Cup championship he was traded out west to Vancouver. He would only score one goal in 20 games. The following year he played in Edmonton, only scoring 2 goals in 29 games.

Boucher, who also really enjoyed tennis, returned to the east to play minor pro hockey in a number of spots until 1929. At point he retired and became a referee in the Ottawa area. He also married a former speed skater named Kay and had a daughter together.

Soon Bob Boucher would become ill. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He would die on June 10th, 1931. He was just 27 years old.

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